Improvement in guides for sewing-machines



' G. w. HARRINGTON.

Guide for Sewing Machines. 8 No. 49,588. Patented Aug. 22, 1865.

Witnesses: Invenfor:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIca.

GEORGE "W. HARRINGTON, OF ORANGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND THOS. H. WHITE, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN GUIDES FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,588, dated August 22, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, G. WV. HARRINGTON, of Orange, in the county of Franklin and State of Massachusetts, have'invented a new and Improved Self-Acting Guide for Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invent-ion consists in making a self-acting guide fora sewing-machine by a peculiar combination of a spirally-grooved roller (or a roller made by winding wire into a close spiral) with a guide-plate and with a spiral spring for holding the roller firml y upon the bed-plate of the guide; also, in so inclining the axis of the roller to the line of motion of the article passing through the guide that it shallhave a tendency to draw the article always toward the vertical part of the guide-plate.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. The followingdescribed drawings attached to and forming a part of this specification illustrate it as follows:

Figure lis a perspective view of the instrument. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same.

A in all the figures shows the bed or principal plate of the guide.

F in all the figures is a thin plate fixed vertically upon the bed-plate A. The function of the plate F is to check the article which is being operated upon from passing too far in the direction indicated by the arrow at in Fig. 2.

1) in all the figures is a wire bent, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in such a manner that while one end serves as an axle for the roller R, the other end forms a pivot about which the roller R swings. Around this same end is placed a spiral spring, S, which is so attached to the wire D (by means of the dog L and screw H, shown in Fig. 2) and to the bed-plate A that it acts to hold the roller 1t steadily upon the bed-plate or upon the intervening article. The extent of the pressure of the roller R on the cloth or material to be operated upon may be varied by means of the dog L and screw H.

The axis of the roller R is inclined slightly from a line perpendicular to the face of the plate F, so that the angle 1) shall be larger than the angle 1), as shown in Fig. 2. The object aimed at in this arrangementis that the roller may crowd the article to be operated upon constantly against the guide-plate F.

The roller R is made of a spiral of wire, or has a spiral groove cut in it for the purpose of giving it a proper tendency to crowd the article against the plate F.

G is a standard for holding the extreme end of the wire D.

H in Figs. 1 and 2 represent a slot cut in the bed-plate A B for convenience in fastening and adjusting it to the machine.

The utility of my improved guide is this: It can be attached to any sewingmachine, and is so far self-acting as to save a great deal of care and skill to the operator. A person may sew well with a machine having this guide who would be unable to succeed at all without it.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination and arrangement of the spirally-grooved roller B, the wire 1), and adjustable spring S with the bed-plate A B, all operating as and for the purpose specified.

GEORGE W. HARRINGTON. Witnesses:

DAVIS GODDARD, T. E. BRIDGE. 

